THE GROUND-PLAN OF BURTON ABBEY. 243 
as the means of the house or generosity of its benefactors 
allowed. The course of the building was not exactly the 
same with all orders, but the church always came first, 
the Benedictines generally built its eastern half first, as they 
did at Burton. Then they began the cloister and regular 
buildings round it; if the nave was not finished, enough of 
its wall next to the north walk of the cloister was built, to 
allow of the completion of the cloister. Next came the 
east walk with chapter house and monks’ dorter; next the 
south walk with frater and kitchens; finishing with the 
west walk, usually occupied by the Abbots’ house in 
Benedictine Abbeys. If the church had not been finished 
it was usual to complete this next. Then came the infirmary 
built towards the east, and then the buildings of the outer 
court towards the west, guest house, workshops, stables, &c. 
Many of these often remained only as wooden or half- 
timber buildings to the time of the suppression. 
In dealing with a monastic plan we must first try and 
find which was the approach, for upon this, in a great 
measure, the arrangement depended ; for instance, at Durham 
the approach was from the east, instead of west which was 
more usual, and in using the Ancient Rites as a guide we 
must bear this in mind, for the normal arrangement was 
there in a great measure reversed. The parlour and Priors’ 
lodgings being at the east, as more accessible to strangers, 
while the dorter, common house, and infirmary were on the 
west for the opposite reason. Burton followed the more 
usual plan, as the ruins of the Abbey gate, opposite the end 
of New Street, show that the approach was from the west. 
THE’ CHURCH. 
Of this noble building we have nothing left above ground, 
and very little seems to have been done in the excavations 
that were undertaken by this Society to make a plan that 
could have been worked up. Shaw’s plan (plate I, fig. 1,) 
said to be from one at Beaudesert, is of great value, but it 
